COMMENTARIES, 12 DECEMBER 1787

deliberations.-It is easy to foresee that the present crisis will form a
principal epoch in the politics of America, from whence we may date
our national consequence and dignity, or anarchy, discord and ruin;
the arguments made use of by a certain class of political scriblers, I
conceive calculated (instead of throwing light on the subject) to de-
ceive the ignorant but perhaps honest part of the community; and to
misguide the thoughtless and unweary-in our present enquiry it is of
no consequence who are the authors of these inflamatory productions,
whether they are the result of the vanity of a northern champion to
become the head of a party;3 the expiring groans of a principal mag-
istrate of a state;4 or the last effort of the patriotic hewer of a Treasury
to gain popularity;5 or all together, I trust will bare equal rights on the
minds of the public. It is natural enough to suppose that, when any
general plan is proposed, that thwart the private interests or views of a
party, that, such party will draw the most unpleasing picture of the plan,
and blacken it with all the false colouring that a gloomy imagination
can invent: thus are we told by these evil prophets, that the system is
impracticable; smallness of territory being essential to a republican gov-
ernment6-in support of this doctrine, Montesquieu (who was born
and educated under a monarchical government and knew nothing of
any other but in theory) is quoted as an uncontrovertable authority,
and after all, I presume they have mistaken the meaning of this author,
for if I comprehend him right he is speaking of a pure democracy, such
as Athens where the people all met in council; to be sure in such a
government, extensive territory would be inconvenient, but a remedy
to this evil has long since been found out: when the territory of any
state became too large for the general assembling of the people, it was
thought best to transact the business of the Commonwealth by repre-
sentation: and thus large states may be governed as well by delegates
from twenty districts, as small ones are from two or three; but this is
what we are told by the politicians of the day constitutes a dangerous
aristocracy, for say they in their learned diffinition, it is a government of
the few; on this shameful quibble they attempt to ketch the attention
of the rabble and frighten them into the measure of rejecting the pro-
posed government-if I understand any thing of the meaning of the
term, aristocracy signifies a government by a body of Nobles, who de-
rive their power either from hereditary succession or from self appoint-
ment; and are no way dependent on the people for their rank in the
state. By the plan offered to us, both the legislative and executive, de-
rive their appointments either directly from the people, or from the
representatives chosen by the people: how this can be called an aris-
tocracy exceeds the limits of my comprehension; it is true that we are

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